Somewhere With You
by TDM9218
Summary: Sam deals with wanting to be with Andy when things get in the way namely her relationship with Luke . First chapter is rated T, because I'm careful no language, minor flirting, but some drinking .
1. Chapter 1

**This was originally intended to be a songfic based on Kenny Chesney's song Somewhere With You. However, once I started writing it became more of a story inspired by the song. The song isn't featured in the story at all, but feel free to listen to it if you want to know where I'm coming from with this. This chapter doesn't have much action. It is just there to set the story up. I appreciate reviews and opinions on whether the story should be continued, especially since this is my first attempt at fanfiction. And of course I own nothing Rookie Blue. **

* * *

At the end of a long day on shift there was nothing Sam Swarek liked more than going to the Penny and drinking a scotch with his buddies, especially when Andy was there. She always came over. Always made a point of coming over. And then there was the way her eyes scanned the bar for him the instant she stepped inside and the soft grin that spread across her face when she saw him sitting in his usual spot at the bar, usually with Jerry or Oliver. But he was missing all the fun of the Penny standing in the shower at the station thinking about it. So he quickly jumped out, toweled off and threw on his usual black v-neck t-shirt and jeans. He casually noted that all the day shift coppers were gone and wondered if he had missed McNally's entrance to the bar. He strolled out to his truck relishing the light breeze and the softening chill of the springtime air. Before he knew it he was parked outside the Penny.

He entered the bar and furtively glanced around in an attempt to ascertain if Andy had arrived yet. But before he could complete his survey Jerry popped into his field of view.

"Sammy, buddy, come have a drink with me and Ollie," Jerry said as he all but led Sam to the bar. Before he knew it he was sitting at the far corner of the bar between Oliver and Jerry with a scotch already in front of him that he didn't even order.

As he started to resume his scan for McNally, Jerry cleared his throat.

Oliver grimaced. He couldn't let Jerry blurt out exactly what he was thinking. That would crush Sam, and this night was going to be tough enough. Oliver placed his hand on Sam's shoulder causing him to spin around to face him. "Sammy, just let her go. You've been carrying that torch long enough."

Sam's eyes barely had time to register surprise before Jerry blurted out, "She's moving in with Callaghan, Sam." The surprise, hurt, and anger flashed through Sam's eyes. Then he slowly and methodically turned and picked up the scotch which he quickly knocked back. Instantaneously all three men raised their hands to the bartender to get Sam another drink.

* * *

Andy slipped into the bar smiling. Today had been a good day. Sam and she had stayed busy enough to not be bored but not too busy to not have time to talk. In fact their normally light banter had led to some more revealing conversations. She was hoping she could get Sam to let his guard down tonight. Her eyes scanned the expanse of people looking for him. When she caught him looking at her from across the room her face lit up. But Sam just looked away.

_Uh oh, something has happened to drastically change his mood…_ Andy thought.

She started to move across the bar to where Sam sat with Jerry and Oliver hoping that she could figure out what had suddenly changed. But halfway there Noelle stopped right in front of her.

"Andy, just order your drink and go sit with your friends. You've already done enough as far as Sam is concerned," Noelle stated.

Andy looked at the female training officer in shock. "How do you figure that?"

"Andy, Sam needs time and space without you in it now. We would expect you to understand that with everything you've already put him through," Noelle said snidely.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Andy said in a defeated, flat tone. But despite her denial she shrugged her shoulders, ducked her head, and walked up to the bar half the room away from Sam.

She walked across the room to where Traci sat with all the rest of their rookie class, without one glance back at Sam. His eyes bore holes into her back with the intensity of his gaze the entire way. She hoped with all her heart that he would decide to come talk to her and work out whatever had so obviously ruined his disposition.

Traci noticed Andy's reaction to Noelle's confrontation and couldn't help but wonder what was so wrong. Gail and Chris noticed the defeat and hurt in Andy's body language as she approached their table. And when she sat down with her back to the bar even Dov noticed.

"What was that all about?" Traci asked curiously.

"I don't know," was all Andy could muster in reply.

"You look like crap. Want another drink?" Gail asked, not knowing what else she would be able to do to help. (She was the ice queen after all.) Andy nodded with relief. Her first drink was barely touched but she was just happy Gail wasn't being mean this time.

Dov's eyes lit up at the chance to have more drama to spill. He always loved a good story, especially the ones that he was closer to than anyone else. "You need us to kick their ass, Andy?" he asked, jokingly, hoping to lighten the mood. Andy simply shook her head.

Chris moved closer to Andy and slipped his arm around her shoulders. "How about you drink that second drink that Gail is picking up, and we'll take you home." She nodded thankful that Chris was so empathetic.

* * *

Across the bar, Andy gulped down a scotch and a tequila shot, hugged Traci goodbye, waved to Dov, and allowed Gail and Chris to lead her outside. Sam had had enough. He couldn't sit at the bar with his buddies trying to be supportive and consoling and plying him with drinks anymore. He stood up abruptly and dropped a couple bills on the bar top. "I'll see you guys later."

"But Sammy you can't leave now the game is just getting…." Jerry started before Oliver interrupted. "It's okay man. We understand. Let us know if you need anything."

Sam just nodded curtly before stepping outside.

* * *

Traci looked conspiratorially at Dov, who simply cocked his eyebrow. "We need to find out what is going on over there. I'll take Jerry. You take Oliver." Then Traci rose and started walking across the room. Dov paused for a split second to think it over then shrugged his shoulders and hopped out of his seat to follow Traci.

Both Jerry and Oliver were too distracted by their own conversation about how worried Sam had them to notice that the rookies were quickly approaching.

Dov slid into the seat next to Oliver. "So, how is the game going?" he asked hoping to strike up so friendly conversation.

Oliver spun around. "Huh?"

"Wow! What's got you so distracted that you aren't even watching the hockey game?" Dov asked, slightly more inquisitorial this time.

"Just some friend stuff," Oliver managed to cover the basics without giving any details.

Dov just nodded as he silently admired the other man's skills at avoiding answering things he didn't want to talk about.

Meanwhile, Traci approached Jerry. Her tiny, soft hand delicately placed on his shoulder quickly pulled him away from conversation with Oliver. It had been at least a month since she had touched him, especially in that way. He was beginning to think that Dex had finally won her heart, but this might mean something different.

"You think we could go somewhere more private to talk, Jer?" Traci asked softly.

"Um… yeah… okay…" he stammered in reply as he gulped the rest of the drink and threw a couple bills on the bar top.


	2. Chapter 2

Traci led Jerry out into the bar's parking lot, and he was all too eager to follow. He was already imagining scenarios ending with him waking up next to her in his bed again. They got to his car and before he could unlock it she spun around to face him and the look on her face was not saying, "Kiss me now." _Apparently my desperate mind jumped the gun a bit_ he thought bitterly.

"What the heck is wrong with you guys?" Traci all but demanded. She couldn't believe that they had ruined Andy's good day, good mood, and what was supposed to be a good night.

"What do you mean?" Jerry asked incredulously. _How could she be asking me that? She would have done the exact same thing if it were Andy. _

"I don't know what Oliver and you were over there gossiping with Sam about but whatever it was pissed him off. And then you had Noelle running interference so Andy couldn't even go talk to him."

"Well of course we did, Trace. And don't start giving me hell about it cause you would have done the exact same thing if he did that to her instead of the other way around."

"Did what?" Traci asked, less angry and more confused than before.

"The whole division knows she's moving in with Callaghan. We were barely able to keep it from him this long. Andy really should have told him herself you know." He couldn't believe that Traci hadn't known that her best friend was about to move in with her detective boyfriend before the rest of the division knew. And he knew she saw how Sam felt about Andy; they had talked about it when they were together. So, he couldn't understand how she could be mad at him, actually at them, for protecting a friend.

Her eyes blazed with an angry fire and a heavy sigh escaped her lips. "You must have been misinformed."

"What? No, Callaghan told me he bought a house for him and McNally."

"He did buy a house for them. She just isn't moving in. Well she was, but then the undercover op opened her eyes about Sam. Once she had a few days with Luke, away from the op and Sam, she was sure she couldn't live with Luke, or even date him, when she had such strong feelings for Sam."

"Oh no….." Jerry whispered, barely able to choke out the words. He couldn't believe they had all been so unbelievably wrong.

"Tell him you screwed up," Traci said in her most commanding voice. Jerry tried calling Sam's cell, but he wasn't picking up. It figured that that would be the case considering the way Jerry had spent the whole night trying to engage him while he needed his space. So Jerry settled for a text to Sam, Oliver, and Noelle. _Disregard._

They waited 15 minutes but no one responded, and Jerry said he had no idea where Sam would have gone. So Traci decided to leave. She turned and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Jerry asked, shocked that she would just walk away without even talking to him.

"Home," Traci said flatly. She wanted to talk to Jerry but not tonight. Tonight she had Leo, and she was mad at Jerry. Tonight their talk wouldn't go well.

"But what about us?" he couldn't help but ask. He missed her too much not to try, and it had really felt like she was open to giving them another chance earlier.

"We can talk another night, Jer. I have Leo, and I need to get home to him." Traci sighed and smiled a sad, soft smile. Jerry just nodded and stared as she walked away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dov and Oliver sat in relative silence watching the hockey game only speaking when a good or bad play was made. Oliver was lost in thoughts of Sam and what he must be doing tonight. He kept looking down at his cell phone on the bar wanting to be sure he was there if Sam should call but also considering calling him to check in. It was then that Dov decided to try another tactic.

"So, it seemed like Sam was upset tonight…." Dov let the statement hang in the air.

Oliver sighed and said, "Yeah. He was upset alright." The statement made him frown. He hated seeing his buddy hurt. He remembered what a broken heart felt like from the many he had had and caused before he met Zoe. Sam had been there for him through a lot of that. In all the years he had known Sam he hadn't seen him this invested in someone. Andy sure had done a number on him.

"What was bothering him?" Dov asked, maybe a little too excitedly.

"Doesn't matter," Oliver replied, wanting away from the inquisitive rookie. He had already began to drink a little faster in the hopes of escaping the bar and thus Dov.

"It seemed like it mattered to him and you and Jerry and even Noelle," Dov mused only half under his breath.

"We just don't like seeing our friends hurt," Oliver replied as he set his drink down and reached into his wallet. As the bills hit the bar top, the surprise at Oliver's quick departure hit Dov's face.

"Night," Oliver stated as he walked away.

* * *

Sam's phone vibrated in the cup holder of his truck. He glanced over at it surprised he had even heard the noise over the classic rock music he had blaring through his speakers as he drove. It was Jerry. _Probably calling to check up on me or to try to get me to go hang out,_ Sam thought. He wasn't in the mood. So he ignored the call. That's when the text message came in. He knew it was Jerry probably saying what he would of said on the phone, so he didn't even bother to look. He did, however, look up at the clock on his center console. _Wow! 0130 already…. Damn I've been driving for at least two hours. I should go home. Get some rest before shift_, he thought. But then he noticed that his supposedly mindless driving had led him right to Andy's street. He was just drunk enough to think that maybe it would be a good idea to go tell her how he felt, as a last ditch attempt to win her over. He parked in front of her building and got out and walked to the door. But then he stopped. _What would she think of me standing here at 0130 the night before we have to work drunk. _She might not even let me in. He slowly walked back to the car and slid into the driver's seat looking longingly at her window. _What if she doesn't even want to talk to me. Hell she didn't tell me she was moving in with him in the first place. I thought we were closer than that. Hell for all I know she has already moved in with him._

He knew he needed to get away from here, from her. But he couldn't go home and be alone. He couldn't call Oliver. He had Zoe and the kids to go home to. He couldn't call Jerry. He didn't want to talk about Andy. He couldn't call Noelle. She would be asleep. His sister didn't even cross his mind. Sarah did not need to deal with his relationship, or lack thereof, issues. So Sam scrolled through his contacts searching for someone who knew nothing about his present state of affairs with Andy. The name he settled on was Monica. She should have just gotten off shift a couple hours ago, and she wasn't invested in the whole him and Andy thing. It would be easy to blow off around her. So he called.

"Sam?" she answered, shocked and tired.

"What are you doing?" he asked, hoping she had plans he could join in on.

"Well I was asleep…. But what are you doing?" she asked, a little worried about him calling this late, even more so because he sounded upset and slightly drunk.

"Just driving. Just left the Penny," he lied.

"You don't sound like you should be driving, Sam," she scolded. "Want me to come pick you up?" she offered, wondering if that is why he had called.

"Actually, I was wondering if you would let me in." he stated as he parked at her apartment complex.

"Sure….." She hung up and sighed. This was going to be a long and interesting day off.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gail and Chris had dropped Andy off at home. She had tried watching TV but the only thing on she was remotely interested in were Lifetime movies, and that was totally not what she should be watching on a night like tonight. Of course she hadn't realized that until there were tears pouring out of her eyes and she actually said his name. That one word slipping off her tongue ended the tears. But she hated the hold he had on her and it had just reminded her of that so the TV had to be turned off. She wondered over to her bookshelf to pick out something to read so she could finally fall asleep, but there was nothing that caught her fancy. So being a McNally she did what she was genetically programmed to do best. She opened a bottle of wine and sat down to drink it.

Of course, the alcohol made her want to get up and do something. So she cleaned. She scrubbed all the bathroom surfaces, mopped, vacuumed, swept, cleaned windows, washed dishes and clothes, even dusted all the hard to reach nooks and crannies of her apartment. When she looked at the clock it was 0300. She only had four hours before she had to wake up and get ready for work. So she trudged down the hallway and crawled into bed.


	3. Chapter 3

At the station the next morning everyone gathered in groups around the coffeepot talking about Sam and Andy, except Luke. He was so sick of everyone talking about his very recent ex moving on with her partner. It somehow felt wrong. He knew it wasn't exactly cheating, well if he was being honest with himself he knew it wasn't cheating at all, but one's ex wasn't supposed to go chasing after someone else, much less someone she had been working so intimately with while they were together, so soon after she broke up with him. He knew he shouldn't but he couldn't help but think that maybe Andy and Sam were more than strictly platonic partners before she had ended things. _Could that be why she had ended things? Maybe something had happened on the undercover op that had led Andy to misinterpret Sam's intentions. Maybe Sam had been so upset last night because he didn't want a real relationship with Andy. Commitment, after all, had never been Sam's strong suit when it came to women. It would serve Andy right _he thought bitterly. Jerry had done the full debriefing of Sam and Andy following the op, since everyone knew Luke was a little too close. But Jerry had never let Luke read the report of the debriefing. He had said that there was nothing unexpected in it and that had cooled Luke's interest. But the recent developments had once more spiked his curiosity. He turned and looked out his office window across the hallway to Jerry's desk narrowing his eyes at the folders stacked messily all over its surface.

* * *

The rookies were standing in the hallway outside the locker rooms and across from the classroom the bosses used to hand out the day's assignments and brief the officers on any big developments. Traci had filled them in on her conversation with Jerry, which left the others feeling confident that it would all work out for the best today. Dov was even joking that the reason Sam and Andy were both late was because they had spent the night together, after all everyone knew Andy was always late but Sam was always on time. Traci though wasn't so sure. She was worried because Jerry had tried, but failed, to reach Sam last night. Gail was holding Chris' hand and leaning on his shoulder during these precious last moments before they were actually on shift and had to go back to professional attitudes. She was feeling more connected to the group now. Since the shooting and her 24/7 vigil over Chris' bed the others were letting her in on more of their lives, and, like Chris, she was beginning to get antsy that Andy hadn't shown up.

* * *

The training officers stood right next to the coffeepot that morning joined by Detective Barber, of course. Both Oliver and Jerry were on their second cup of coffee trying to make up for the late and restless night they had had worried about their friend. Noelle was giving the guys a hard time, as usual. "I can't believe you guys got me all riled up over nothing. You couldn't at least get your facts straight?"

"I thought I had a reliable information source." Jerry shrugged. His eyes were glued to the door like they had been since the moment he walked in.

Oliver wanted to take some of the heat off of Jerry, so he decided now would be a good time to apologize. "Hey man, I'm real sorry I didn't respond to your text last night. You know with Zoe and the girls…. I was already in bed and….." Jerry waved off his apology with a dismissive, "It's okay. It's not your fault." He still didn't take his eyes off the door.

Bets were being taken on all things McSwarek but the couple's closest friends were too on edge to get in on any of the fun.

Best started down the stairs from his office signaling the other coppers to move into the classroom for the morning briefing. The training officers, rookies, and lone detective waited right outside the door until the last possible moment, and then turned and walked in even more on edge than before.

* * *

Andy was running a little later than usual but nothing that she was too worried about. She figured she would be about five to ten minutes late for the morning briefing. _Sam is totally going to give me hell for this_ she thought absentmindedly.

Sam, on the other hand, hadn't been late since his rookie days so he was a little bit on edge. He whipped the truck into the parking lot like it was a well-oiled sports car flying around the track. He was so distracted by his tardiness and the fact that McNally was finally going to have this to hold over his head that he failed to notice the devil herself tearing around the corner behind him as he tugged his duffel bag out of his backseat and slung it over his shoulder smacking her right in the forehead. The force of the impact in her unbalanced state made her fall, skid across the pavement and impact the wall. _So much for 5-10 minutes late_ she thought angrily looking up at none other than Sam Swarek.

His face fell. He had not been expecting to run into her so early, especially not alone where he might actually be accosted about last night. Now he had started the morning off by, literally, running into her. He felt horrible. The guilty look was probably plastered all over his face; scratch that she was hurt. There was blood even. He bent down and helped her pick up her scattered belongings and torn backpack. "I'm so so so so sorry, Andy. I really didn't mean to. I'm not used to running late. I wasn't paying attention," he rambled out of control.

"It's fine, Sam," she huffed, wanting nothing more than to be out of this place. Her proximity to him was far too unnerving this morning.

He extended his hand to her and pulled her up almost flush against his chest all the while staring down at the damage he had caused. She instinctively looked up at him and met his eyes. _Were they bloodshot? Were those bags under his eyes? _The exhaustion written all over his face calmed her anger and triggered all her protective, feminine impulses to soothe his aches. He couldn't help but notice that the dark circles under her eyes he used to tease her about when she wasn't seeing much of Luke had returned. _Were his eyes playing tricks on him or were her nose and eyes a little red, like she'd been crying?_

She suddenly realized how close she was to him and took two steps back. It hurt him to feel her slipping away. She felt so normal, so comfortable, so right up against him like that. Desperate to keep her near him for just a few more moments he said the only thing that came to mind, "Let's get inside, and I'll help you clean up those cuts." She just nodded limped after him. _That had sounded a lot like an order, and he's my training officer, after all _she persuaded herself.


	4. Chapter 4

**First of all, I LOVE LOVE LOVE all the reviews, fav stories and fav authors! But most especially the reviews. So please keep them coming :-) Also I love reading your stories too, so please keep them coming. :-) **

**Secondly, I'm in need of some help planning another little story I thought about today. I'll post specifics as a review. **

**Third, I apologize for the cliffhangers and not finishing yet. (This story was not originally supposed to be so long winded.) I've already started the next chapter, but I'm not so sure I like the way it's going. So... I'm thinking I'm going to take a little break from this one and write something a little lighter and more fun. Mixed emotions about that, but we'll see. :-)/:-(**

**And finally, last but not least, I still don't own Rookie Blue. In spite of my best efforts... lol**

* * *

Sam followed Andy into the station, at a total loss for words. _How could I have been that clumsy?_ He knew how. Last night had totally thrown him off his game. He used to know that Andy and he were friends and he even suspected that underneath all of that she was still attracted to him. But after last night he wasn't sure he even knew her. _Why hadn't she trusted him enough to tell him she was moving in with Callaghan? _It's not like he had any rights to her. _This was going to make it so much easier to go for the soon to be opening in guns and gangs_, he thought bitterly. He had actually been considering staying on patrol just to stay with her a little longer, but that was a moot point now.

Andy slipped into the women's locker room sure that Sam would come find her after parade to bandage her cuts and make himself feel better. But Sam just followed her in, after all there wasn't going to be anyone else in there at this time.

"Sam, you don't have to do this. I'm fine. I can take care of my own scrapes."

"Andy, I want to do this. Now go wash your hands with some soap and water to get the dirt and gravel out." She obediently walked into the bathroom. He pulled a first aid kit out of his duffel and silently wondered why he was here.

Andy walked back out but stopped in the doorway staring at Sam pinching the bridge of his nose and looking down at the first aid kit in his lap. After months of riding with him she knew that that look meant that he was frustrated. But she also knew better than to push. So she quietly walked up and sat down next to him and started rolling up her pant leg so he could get to the scrape on her knee.

He turned and glanced at her, letting his eyes rove all over her lean, graceful body. _Snap out of it_, he thought. He knelt between her legs as she sat on the bench and started to clean her knee. This felt intimate and close like the last time he had done this when he had told her about Sarah. So, he supposed the association made him ask, "Andy, do you still trust me?" He had been wondering since he found out about her and Luke. _Maybe that kiss while we were undercover was a liberty I shouldn't have taken. _

She chuckled, which of course made him stiffen. So she placed her finger under his chin forcing him to look up at her. "With my life, Sam."

Her eyes said she was being totally sincere. He finished her knee and one of her hands in silence, but halfway through cleaning her right palm he blurted out, "Then why didn't you tell me you were moving into the house Callaghan bought for you?" There was a little more anger than necessary in his tone and this time his dark brown eyes were locked on hers.

She paused. _How does he know that? At least now I understand last night's drama at the Penny._ "At first I didn't know how to tell you, and I wasn't sure how I even felt about it. But then, after the undercover op, I just needed some time to figure things out. And that led to me breaking up with Luke and made moving in with him a moot point."

Confusion and maybe a hint of panic flashed in Sam's eyes. That was not what he was expecting. _Hadn't everyone told him just last night that she was shacking up with Callaghan?_ He didn't know what to say, but he was done cleaning her scrapes up so he just rose, grabbed his duffel and walked out the door without another word. _Please tell me I didn't screw things up….._

_Sometimes I have no clue what that man is thinking_, she thought as he walked away.

* * *

Best looked around the room as he briefed the coppers of 15th on the agenda for the day. _Andy's late, as usual. But I'm missing Swarek too? That's completely abnormal_, he thought. He made a mental note to find them both as soon as he was done so he could correct this little transgression before it became their habit. He had heard that they were a couple now from Dov, the loudmouthed gossipy rookie. _Which means that they also deserve to be punished for not telling me about that and for being late_. The thought made him smirk. "Serve, protect, and be on time tomorrow," he commanded, as the offending TO and rookie stepped into the briefing room. All heads turned towards the door and catcalls rained down upon them. They both blushed and looked away from one another and down towards the floor. Their closest friends just sighed in relief. Luke pushed past the crowd and out a side door. His face was set in stone. _They could have had a little more decency than that._

"Swarek, McNally, my office double time," he ordered with glimmer of anger in his eye. The room was totally out of control now. The two officers practically tripped over one another to be out of there first. _Well they deserve that and more_, he thought. "The rest of you need to be on your assignments in the next five minutes," he barked. He didn't want to deal with a station full of gawking cops for the rest of the day.

Nash approached him from the front row. "Sir, since Swarek and McNally are here, does that mean I go back to desk duty?"

"Not today, Nash. But I'm sure you'll be back to your regular assignment tomorrow. Today I need you on the streets."

Traci nodded and walked away wondering what his plans for her best friend were. She had the feeling Andy had had a rough night, and she hoped Best would go easy on her.

* * *

Oliver had looked worried sick and possibly a little hungover, so Best had decided to spare him the pain of riding with over-eager, talkative Dov. So, this morning he was riding with stoic, by the book Chris. Oliver and Chris walked to the car in companionable silence. Dov watched from across the parking lot where he was waiting with his partner for the day, Gail.

"There is no way Chris is going to be able to handle Oliver fishing for information all day. I should be riding with him. We're a better match," Dov grumbled.

"Easy there, man-boy. You're starting to sound like you have a little crush on your TO," Gail replied all cool, calm and collected snide.

Dov slipped into the passenger side of their squad car and stared out the window in silence, his best Andy impersonation.

It wasn't two minutes after they got in the squad car when Oliver asked the first question of the day. "So, when did your friend break up with the detective?"

"Oh I don't know. A week and half ago, I guess," Chris stammered. Dov was right I'm so not the man for this job, he thought. Oliver is going to know everything by the end of this shift.

"So, why did she keep it secret? Does she not trust us?"

"It wasn't really a secret. Just nobody asked. And really, NOBODY even seemed interested." Chris stated emphasizing Swarek's lack of interest. _Oops I wasn't supposed to say that either. Today is going to be a long day._

"Maybe SOMEBODY was just waiting for a clear signal. Did your friend ever think about that?" Oliver asked with more than a hint of frustration in his voice.

Chris just stared out the window trying to channel McNally.

* * *

Traci walked out to the car to meet up with Noelle. She was looking forward to having a day out on patrol instead of behind a desk even if it had meant that she had had to get her mom to agree to watch Leo that night on short notice. Plus she and Noelle were kind of close, so this should be a great day.

Noelle stood at the driver's side door of their squad car with her hands on her hips. As much as she liked Nash she was going to have to have a conversation with her about Andy. Maybe Jenny from the block could talk some sense into that girl.

_Okay scratch that great day bit_, Traci thought the minute she saw Noelle. It was like the woman had reverted back to the TO she was before Traci caught her with the hormone shots.

Once they were on the move, Noelle's tirade began. "How long have McNally and Callaghan been split up? And what was that girl thinking stringing Swarek along like that?"

"Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute! She was NOT stringing Sam along. He never asked or made a move for that matter," Traci stated matter-of-factly.

"Well what did you expect with all the talk flying around the station about her shacking up with Callaghan?"

"I guess, Andy thought Sam would be man enough to ask her, instead of getting angry and running off like a little girl," Traci shot back.

The car went silent. _Okay, maybe that was a little much_, Traci thought. _I just really needed to vent my frustrations this morning, Noelle will understand right? _All of a sudden Noelle broke out in a torrential fit of laughter, and Traci couldn't help but join in. _If only Swarek had heard that_, Noelle thought. _These rookies are definitely going to give him a run for his money._

_

* * *

_

Back at the station, Andy and Sam were grudgingly going through paperwork at desks that conveniently faced one another. Sam had been staring at one report for hours it seemed. He couldn't look up because he would see her and he couldn't focus because she could see him. _Not that she's looking_, he thought. McNally had been the model of productivity this morning. She was down to the last report in the gigantic stack Best had dished out. He was done with two, and it was lunch time.

Sam was working up the nerve to ask Andy if she wanted to grab a bite to eat, when Oliver walked in a spared him the misery. "Hey, Sammy! What'd you say to grabbing lunch with me and Chris?"

"Of course." He grinned and practically bounced out of his seat. He only took one backwards look at Andy over his shoulder as they walked out. But Oliver, being the good friend he was, pretended not to notice.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so it took me forever to write this. I ended up keeping the first part that I wrote right after the last chapter and wasn't totally happy with. I'm still not completely happy with it, and it doesn't answer any of the questions that you guys have been asking (sorry about that... :(). So, think of it as a very Andy/Sam centric bridge chapter. Plus the writer had to get back into the story again (sorry about that too :(). **

* * *

Andy couldn't believe it. Sam had just gotten up and left with Oliver. First of all, they were supposed to be confined to the station. After Best's tone and demeanor that morning, she was not about to go breaking any of the conditions of their parole. She wanted back on the streets as soon as possible. Secondly, he hadn't even asked her to go. They always had lunch together. Finally, why wouldn't he at least offer to bring her something back? She was upset, hurt, and hungry. She waited another thirty minutes to see if one of her friends would offer her lunch like Oliver had done for Sam, but all the rookies were either distracted or tied up with TOs that were definitely not bringing lunch to McNally. Her hunger finally won, and she slipped off to the snack machines and grabbed a coke and a bag of potato chips.

When she returned she eyed Sam's stack of paperwork. He's never going to finish that. He barely got through two reports this morning. He must be out of practice. After all I have been doing all the paperwork for the last six months and before that he was undercover for eight months. Best did say it all had to be done by the end of the day if we want to have any chance of going out of patrol tomorrow. Oh hell why not? It's not like I have anything better to do, she thought as she picked up half Sam's unfinished stack.

Sam walked into the station laughing to himself about Ollie teasing Chris over lunch when something caught his eye. The stack of reports on his desk was considerably shorter than when he'd left it and it corresponded to an increase in the number of reports on McNally's desk. "What's going on here, McNally?" he questioned, worried that Best had seen how poorly he'd been performing his punishment and made the rookie take on more of the task.

"Nothing," she huffed. _Why is he so mad at me? I should be mad at him, but yet here I am coming to his rescue again. _

"Why are you doing my work, McNally?" Sam rephrased the question hoping the directness would lead to the answer he wanted.

"It looked like you could use some help, and I didn't have anywhere to go for lunch. So, what are partners for, right?" she stared up at him accusingly.

It warmed his heart that she would look out for him like that, but in light of recent events it pissed him off too. "I don't need to be coddled, McNally," he snapped.

She looked up, wounded. "I'm not coddling you, Sam. I'm being nice. I don't know why you can't be."

He sunk down into his chair and raked his hands over his face and into his hair, fighting back his frustration. How could this one woman drive him so crazy and yet make him fall more in love with her every second? He glanced up, hoping to catch her eye, but instead he saw the empty potato chip bag and soda with a straw. "McNally…" She didn't look up from her screen. He softened his tone, "Andy."

She looked up and defiantly met his eye. "What, Sam?"

"What did you have for lunch?"

She looked down at the desk, knowing she'd been found out. I knew I should've thrown the trash away before he got back. _Serves me right for getting so wrapped up in this_, she thought. "I wasn't that hungry, so I grabbed some chips and a soda from the vending machines." She hoped she sounded convincing, and that he couldn't hear the slight rumble of her stomach at the thought of food.

Sam picked up his cell and dialed a very familiar number. The man who answered owed Sam for something he had done while undercover. "Tony, you ready to work off a little bit of the debt you owe me?" Sam queried. Tony must've answered affirmatively because Sam started to order Andy's absolute favorite Italian meal, eggplant parmesan with lots of garlic bread and a small side salad.

Fifteen minutes later the meal was being delivered to Andy's desk and Sam was stealing back his undone paperwork.

* * *

All morning Luke had been sitting in his office staring through the glass wall at Jerry's desk across the hallway. He wanted that report. In fact he had started to get up to go demand that Jerry hand it over a couple times, but he always ended up backing down. But now Jerry had a suspect in Interview 1. He had been gone for about fifteen minutes. Luke thought this was the perfect time. _This is the best shot I'm going to have. _So he just went for it, just got up and walked into Jerry's office.

_Now where do I start_, Luke wondered. His logical, semi-OCD mind could not fathom how Jerry's office was organized. There were papers scattered and stacked everywhere and every now and then he would lift a stack and find an empty soda can or bag of chips. _Yuck. Three day old coffee cup with coffee still in it. _He couldn't imagine how anyone could live like this, much less work.

That's when Jerry walked in. He was wearing that smug, sarcastic look that he always got when he couldn't believe he was experiencing whatever was occurring right in front of his face. Luke stole a quick look at his watch. _Damn I've been searching through all this crap for twenty minutes_, he thought angrily.

"Luke, what are you doing going through everything in MY office?"

"I'm looking for the report on Swarek and McNally's debriefing from the undercover op. I needed it to wrap up the case and since you were in an interview I didn't want to interrupt you."

"I told you there wasn't anything surprising in the report. I'll wrap the file up later this afternoon."

"No. I have the time now. All I need is the report." Luke extended his hand, clearly expecting to win this argument.

Jerry had no choice. _I can't keep protecting them forever. We all knew that this would be a possibility._ He went directly to a stack of papers and produced the desired report in an instant.

Luke strode out of Jerry's office and shot a look of daggers at Sam bringing food to his beautiful Andy. Sam looked up and smirked. Luke's face soured and he stormed into his office, letting the door slam behind him.

* * *

As the day wound to a close the beat cops started to return en masse to the station. When Oliver walked through the door with Chris hot on his heels he looked up and froze. Sam was smiling again. McNally was sitting at her desk finishing up a report and grinning, clearly teasing him. Chris smiled ear to ear as soon as he realized who Oliver was staring at.

Noelle and Traci rounded the corner and almost ran into the guys. Both women smiled at one another, feeling proud of the two of them for finally figuring out what they had been missing all along. Sam looked up and said something that made Andy blush and refocus her attention on the reports. But it wasn't long before Sam had her full attention again.

Dov pushed his way to the front of the bunch of returning cops just in time to see Sam walking Andy towards Best's office with his hand resting on her lower back. "So, just like that and they're all better?" Dov asked incredulous, causing an eruption of laughter from the group. Gail rolled her eyes. "Can we all stop the Swarek-McNally love-fest?" she complained as she grabbed Chris' arm and pulled him away just a tad jealous at all the attention Andy was attracting. Sam and Andy were too distracted to notice any of the commotion.

But Gail's little tirade broke up the group. Noelle grinned and started to walk away, but she paused to give Shaw a snap out of it look. Oliver followed Noelle towards the locker rooms without acknowledging the recent events. And Dov complained to Traci right up to the locker room doors. But she just couldn't wipe the smile off her face even if it was making Dov miserable.


	6. Chapter 6

**So I think I'm finally getting this story moved towards resolution. Hope you guys like it!**

** Still don't own them though... It really doesn't get easier to say that.**

* * *

Luke sat alone in his office reading and reading the notes that Jerry had handed him. He wasn't sure that he could believe the words on the paper, so he had to keep seeing them to convince himself that they were real. Jerry had been hiding the report for a reason. Luke had been right to trust his gut, but he wasn't sure that that was necessarily a good thing. He was pissed, for more than one reason.

_First of all, Andy did cheat on me_, he thought_. She kissed Swarek or rather let him kiss her. And you could argue that they were undercover playing a couple, but then you would realize you were wrong when you read the rest of the report. The end of Andy's debriefing tells her story of turning her back to an unstable kid with a loaded gun and even telling him to shoot her. That is not something that you do for someone who is merely a partner. Which means that my girlfriend had feelings, really strong feelings, feelings stronger than those she had for me, while she was with me. And for someone you love to fall for someone else, especially someone that they work so intimately with is unforgiveable. It's also unforgiveable in the world of blue to take another man's girl. Cops don't date other cops significant others. Hell we don't even date each other's exs. Doing that causes bad blood throughout the force that could end up costing someone their life. No one is going to like either of them when all of this gets out, _he thought malevolently.

* * *

After all the drama and waiting on pins and needles the officers closest to fifteen's most frustrating couple definitely needed a night on the town. Jerry and Oliver were the first out the door. Both men needed a chance to celebrate what could have been, no scratch that, was a huge mistake on their part the night before now that it had seemingly worked itself out. Plus, Jerry had explained to Oliver that there might be a disaster looming on the near horizon. Oliver was eager to find out what had gone so terribly wrong now.

Noelle offered Traci some company to walk over to the bar, but she declined saying she would prefer to wait for Andy to finish up with Sgt. Best. Noelle warned her that it might take a while and explained that she was leaving now because Frank had told her not to wait up. That quickly changed Traci's mind and the two women followed shortly behind Barber and Shaw.

Gail and Chris brought up the rear, but only because Gail had pulled Chris into one of the open interview rooms for some quick one on one time. She hated that everyone knew that they were a couple because Best had banned them from riding together. It made her miss Chris more than she thought was humanly possible (maybe just because she wasn't the best at showing emotion), but whatever it was sometimes meant that waiting until they were alone after leaving the Penny just wasn't an option in her mind. Not that Chris was complaining.

* * *

Meanwhile, Swarek and McNally stood at attention in front of Sgt. Best's desk. He was berating them for their earlier tardiness, which both were quick to promise would never happen again. Then he left them standing idle and silent while he quickly looked over all the reports they had so painstakingly worked on all day. When he was finished and found them to be sufficient he looked up at both the officers. "Now, is there anything else either or maybe both of you would like to share with me?"

Andy and Sam looked to one another; neither had expected this line of questioning. And to be honest that wasn't exactly a question either of them knew how to answer. Best cleared his throat. Andy and Sam turned to face him and in unison replied, "No, sir."

He sighed. _They're going to go and make this difficult, of course. It's Swarek and McNally what was I thinking... _"The only reason that I would even ask is that, there have been a lot of rumors flying around the division about a certain TO and his rookie who might have something more than a professional relationship, and frankly I can see how these rumors got started. I was willing to overlook this while I thought you two were at least able to maintain professional boundaries, but then today you go and show up to parade together and late at that. I just can't ignore this issue any longer."

Andy's jaw dropped. Sam's eyes darkened. They both started to speak, heard the other, stopped and looked at each other. Both knew that Best was right. But both knew that at least for now they were maintaining professional boundaries, and neither knew when that would end.

Andy started to speak but she was embarrassed. Which for Andy meant that she was cherry red from her neck up to her forehead and all kinds of flustered. Sam couldn't help idly wondering how much further that blush spread, but he quickly got a hold on his wandering mind. She stammered when she spoke. Sam couldn't let her embarrass herself any further and he was getting defensive about what Best was suggesting about her, well about them really. He decided to speak up for them.

"Sir, I don't know where you got your information, but you are definitely mistaken. McNally and I are NOT in a relationship. You don't have to worry. And, sir, if I may say so, you need to trust your officers, including McNally and me, to come to you when situations like this evolve."

Best shook his head with confusion. He would expect this from McNally, but Swarek would trust him to be fair and make a good decision about his on the job relationship. They were after all friends. So he simply nodded and dismissed them.

Andy's mind was racing. _There was just something about how Sam had said that we weren't together. Something that made it feel so definite and so final. So impossible. Like it would never happen. But I thought that today we were headed in an entirely different direction._

She didn't have long to think before Sam interrupted her train of thought by placing his warm, solid hand on her lower back once more. This time it didn't feel so naturally easy. She even jumped slightly. Sam ignored her reaction. "Andy, can we talk?"

"Uh, yeah, Sam. I mean, sure. We talk all the time right?"

He chuckled. "This is a different kind of talk, Andy. I think you know what I mean. Look, I have some stuff I need to take care of, so I'll be late getting to the Penny. I wasn't planning on staying long anyways. Do you think that you could wait for me there? I'll drive you home." Sam was hesitant, hopeful, and even a little bit excited. _Tonight is the night that I've been waiting for since the day she tackled me in the alley and blew my cover_, he thought like a schoolboy.

"Sure. Sounds good." Andy smiled. Her whole body tingled. It was like she was hyper aware of all the sensations around her. Not the least of which was Sam's touch, gentle but firm. She was suddenly back to feeling like they were on the same page again. Sam smiled and broke the contact to duck into the men's locker room.


	7. Chapter 7

I had a lot of fun writing the previous chapter, and the excitement pushed me to write this one faster. Hope putting them both out at the same time isn't too fast. :-) (It probably didn't help that I was stuck on a plane with nothing else to do. lol)

* * *

Sam was out of the locker room in less than ten minutes. He couldn't wait to get things settled and go meet Andy. _Tonight might be a long night, and if it runs long it definitely shouldn't be because of this errand, _he thought. He drove across town and pulled into the same parking space he had used the night before. This time he didn't call. Monica was expecting him. They had made these plans the night before; the night when he wanted nothing more than to avoid all contact with and mention of Andy McNally. However, today had drastically changed his plans for tonight, the rest of the week, the rest of the month, the rest of the year, heck his whole life. He couldn't imagine wanting to be anywhere without Andy McNally tonight.

He practically ran up the stairs to Monica's cozy loft apartment. He knocked and she opened the door almost instantaneously. _Proof she was waiting for me_, he thought bitterly. She looked relaxed in her bare feet, comfy ever so slightly baggy jeans and a wrap thrown over a tank top. She beamed up at him. He was struck by how girl next door she appeared in comparison to Andy's almost model looks. She opened the door wide and he slipped in apprehensively without saying a word.

"Sam, what's wrong? Is it your rookie again? That girl sure is doing a number on you," she said starting compassionate but approaching anger at the end. Realizing how she sounded she finished with, "You can talk to me about anything you know."

"Well last night…. I…. Well I told you I wanted to start over, to move away from the part of my life that involved Andy McNally. And….."

"And in the clear light of day that didn't look so good huh?" she stated knowingly.

He nodded. "What I thought was the case, wasn't actually the case. And…. Well its Andy… and I've never felt this way before. I think I need to give it a fair shot."

She smiled. "You're right. You owe it to yourself and her. I just hope she realizes what she is missing out on." _I know I do. But I always knew that it wasn't mine. Not in any real, tangible way at least. _

He grinned his amazing dimpled smile, something she had missed out on for quite a while. "Monica, I didn't mean…."

She cut him off, "Sam, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to lead me on. You came here last night looking for a friend, not a lover. And that is okay. We can be friends. Besides, like I told you last night, I've been out on a couple of dates. It's not like I was waiting in the wings for you this time."

He nodded. _God, I'm glad she understands. _He reached out and wrapped his arms around her holding her close in a friendly embrace.

She pulled away after a minute, kissing his cheek as they parted. "Go get your girl, Sam. But don't be such a stranger this time," she encouraged and warned.

* * *

Meanwhile, at The Black Penny the rookies and TOs had divided into their usual groups. The TOs were quietly celebrating the successful outcome of their mistake sitting at the bar while warily glancing around the bar for Luke. Jerry had informed Noelle and Oliver that Luke had come into his office very insistent on seeing the notes from Andy and Sam's debrief. Although Oliver and Noelle had no idea what exactly had occurred on the undercover operation, Jerry had assured them that it would be things Luke would not enjoy hearing. They were therefore all on edge and ready to get between Luke and Sam in order to protect their friend.

The rookies, however, were completely oblivious to the coming storm. Dov had an open bar tab and the drinks and stories were flowing freely while they waited for Andy to appear.

That's when she walked in, alone. The whole bar seemed to turn towards the door when it opened. Some occupants were braced for the entrance of a very pissed off detective; others for the arrival of a beaming, happy new couple. Both groups were sorely disappointed.

All the attention made Andy blush and look down as she quietly slunk across the bar to the table that her friends currently occupied. She was met with puzzled looks all around. "Where's Swarek?" Traci asked. "Yeah we thought you and lover-boy would be hanging out tonight," Dov chimed in. When their questions didn't get an immediate answer, Chris added, "Andy, do you need to talk? Need some space maybe?" "Need a drink?" Gail added with a smirk as she poured her third glass of wine out of the bottle sitting at the center of her table.

"No, no. I'm fine," Andy replied. She was shocked that everyone was so concerned and so interested in her relationship with her former TO.

"So, where is Swarek?" Traci repeated insistent.

"I don't know. He said he had an errand he had to run, but he is supposed to stop by later." Her brow wrinkled in confusion, and she nervously brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"So, you guys are okay?" Dov asked, hopeful that he answer would be yes, but also looking for the story if it wasn't.

"Yeah. We're fine," Andy tried to answer nonchalantly while she sipped a beer she had recently poured.

While this discussion occurred the rookies were completely oblivious to the entrance of Luke Callaghan. He, however, was not oblivious to them. He walked in and scanned the bar looking for his former flame and her new/old beau. Swarek was nowhere to be found, but Andy was at a table surrounded by her friends. His eyes burnt holes in her back, but she seemed oblivious. He walked to the bar ordered a double scotch for little liquid courage and slipped into the shadows of a small corner table at the back of the bar to bide his time for Swarek to arrive.

The TOs were acutely aware that the detective had arrived. Their senses were heightened even through the alcohol induced buzz, and almost instantly their drinks were left sitting on the bar as they continued to talk. They were content to bide their time as long as Luke was.

"Where is Sammy?" Noelle queried Jerry and Oliver figuring that the men might have a better idea where the rogue man had run off to. Both simply shrugged. "Call him," she suggested, knowing that a call from one of the boys to hang out would not be at all suspicious and that it would give them a better insight into what was going on.

Oliver obliging picked his cell phone up off the bar top and dialed. Three rings then the call went to voicemail. "Hey, Sam. It's Oliver. We're hanging out at the Penny and missing you tonight buddy. There is a really good hockey game on. Give me a call."

The three TOs simply settled in and glanced up at the game playing on the bar TV, while keeping an eye on Callaghan out of the corner of their eyes and waiting for Sam to open the door and scan the room for McNally.


	8. Chapter 8

**Just a short bridge chapter. The longer more action filled chapter will be out in a couple of days. Sorry it took me so long to get to this one.**

* * *

Sam was grinning the whole way over to the Penny. His body was humming with electrical tremors of excitement. Tonight Andy was waiting for him and to top it all off everything had gone incredibly well with Monica. When he pulled into the parking lot, he froze taking a minute to take everything in and relax.

Sufficiently calmed he jumped out of the truck and strode purposefully towards the door._ I'm not going to stay around. Just go in and get McNally_, he thought formulating his game plan. _Well unless she wants to stick around…. In which case I guess I'll grab a drink. But just one. And then we're leaving._

He opened the door spotted McNally sitting with her friends right off the bat and then his friends sitting at the bar. He nodded to Jerry, Oliver, and Noelle acknowledging that he had spotted them watching him, but turned and made a beeline for the rooks table.

All the TOs noticed Sam walk in. They all raised their glasses in a silent invitation for Sam to come join them at the bar. But he simply nodded and started to make his way over to McNally. They anxiously glanced over at Luke who was taking the whole scene in from the corner.

* * *

Luke glanced up from his drink when he heard the door open. Sure enough it was none other than Swarek himself. He waited to see where Sam went. He silently hoped that Sam chose his friends since that would mean that Andy had gotten her just desserts as far as Sam not being relationship material. But Swarek made a beeline right for her. _Oh well that just means we're going to have a bigger show_, he thought kicking back the last of his drink. He rose and started across the bar towards his targets, fully intent on making sure that no one in the division would like either of them in the morning.

* * *

Noelle was the first to notice Luke's movements. "On your six," she quietly whispered to Barber and Shaw, who turned and discreetly watched Luke's purposeful movements towards the rookie table.

"Quick. We need a plan to distract him," Jerry noted.

When nothing was suggested immediately, Shaw stood up. "I got it then."

He started backing away from the bar drink in hand looking just a little bit tipsy and calling out to Jerry and Noelle about the game. Luke was striding towards Andy's table all the while keeping her in his crosshairs so he was oblivious to Oliver's shenanigans. Until it was too late, that is.

Oliver's solid back made an abrupt connection with Callaghan's shoulder, which sent Shaw's drink flying into the air and all over them both.

Luke spun around fighting mad and hissed at Shaw, "Watch where you're going."

"Oh, man… I'm soooo sorry. I should've been paying more attention. Here let me help you get that cleaned up." Oliver motioned for the barkeep to bring over some club soda.

"It's fine. I got it," Luke grumbled as he changed direction and headed for the men's room.

Oliver simply grinned and sauntered back to his friends at the bar. "Adapt, improvise, and overcome, my friends. And remind me to tip well tonight," he said gesturing towards the mess he had made.

They all laughed and congratulated Oliver on a good save with a toast.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chris looked up from the rookie's table to see Swarek headed their way. He stood up, politely excused himself, and met Swarek half way across the bar.

"Look, I know you guys have had a rough couple of days, but she is kind of shaken up over all the recent twists and turns with you. So if you aren't planning on straightening this whole thing out, just give her some space," he told Sam. Chris had taken on the father-like role of the group and felt especially protective of Andy since he saw all the damage the job and men in her life had caused.

"Thanks, Chris. But you don't have to worry. I think we're both on the same track now, and the last thing I want to do is hurt her," Sam answered sincere to the core.

Chris nodded and continued on to the bar.

Sam just grinned wider and continued heading towards her.

When he arrived at their table Dov and the girls were lost in conversation. He smiled and rested his palm on Andy's shoulder effectively stopping all conversation. She glanced up slightly fearfully, but her expression softened the second she realized it was Sam.

"Hey. You ready to go?" Sam asked hopefully.

"I just got my beer a minute ago," she replied ruefully.

"Okay. We can stay for a while then." He smiled down at her. Then he glanced around the table. "Mind if I join you guys?" he queried, looking for her friends acceptance. He wanted them to be accepting of this next step in his and Andy's relationship. Traci and Dov managed to nod, although their faces read shock. Gail, however, managed to keep her cool and muster a sentence. "Pull up a chair, Officer Swarek."

Sam beamed and slipped a chair between Dov and Andy.


	9. Chapter 9

**Once again, I don't own them but I wish I did. Also, thank you guys so much for the reviews! I love them all. And on a side note, while I love writing the entire rookie blue cast, these long stories with all of them are quite taxing and exhausting. I kind of understand how the writers must feel. It'll be nice to get back to my simple Andy/Sam story after this. Lol**

* * *

Sam jumped right into conversation at the rookie table. Without missing a beat he discussed the exciting moments of the day, good naturedly teased Dov about his relationships (or lack thereof), and sympathized with them all about the unfairness of still being treated like rookies when one was actually a full-fledged cop.

The rooks, for their part, were pleasantly surprised_. Swarek can actually let loose and be funny without using you as the joke_, ran through all their minds, except for Andy's. She had had the pleasure of working very closely with Sam and getting to know his more human and less TO side. The others had not had this opportunity due to the de facto McNally-Swarek partnership. But although Andy wasn't surprised at Sam's humanity, she was impressed by his willingness to come over and hang out with her friends (his former rookies).

When Gail finished the last glass of wine from the bottle her and Dov had been splitting, Sam politely offered to go get another.

"My martini is almost gone, too," Traci not too subtlety hinted.

Sam just grinned. "I'll get Jerry right on that," he teased.

Traci blushed.

Sam strolled over to where the rest of the TOs sat at the bar and struck up a conversation while getting the bartender to open a bottle of Gail's preferred wine. "Hey, Jerry. Your girlfriend's drink is empty," Sam teased.

_Girlfriend? That's new. Definitely not where I thought we left things the last time we spoke_, Jerry thought. "Me and Nash…. Well, Sammy…. We're not dating right now," Jerry stammered. _Certainly I told Sam that she was giving things with Dex a second chance_, he questioned himself.

"Oh, I know that. But I also know that she broke things off with Dex and blushed like a schoolgirl when I told her I get you working on that empty glass of hers. So maybe now is the time to quit waiting for her to come to you?" Sam suggested.

Jerry wasted no time ordering Traci's favorite appletini.

Oliver just smiled at the two single guy's antics. He vividly remembered what it was like to be in their shoes, but he didn't envy them one minute of it. Things at home with Zoe were too perfect to even consider returning to the life his friends were leading. Just then someone emerged from the men's room. Both Noelle and Oliver glanced over to the door to find none other than the detective of the hour, Luke Callaghan, stepping out.

Luke scanned the room. He was slightly annoyed that his two targets had parted ways, as this would make it more difficult to create the show he was hoping for. _Oh well, I guess I'll just start with her then_, he thought zeroing in on Andy sitting at the table with her friends.

"Sam, we might have a little situation," Oliver said urgently.

"And what would that be?" Sam asked incredulously, nothing could come close to spoiling his good time at that moment, or so he thought.

"One very pissed off detective is making a beeline for your rookie."

"Why is Callaghan pissed now?" Sam questioned as he looked up to confirm what Oliver had already told him.

Jerry choked on his drink as he was jarred back to the present. "Because he read the debrief report today." Jerry looked at Sam apologetically.

"You should probably sit tight for a bit, gentlemen," Noelle cautioned. "Your presence over there would likely just make things worse. Besides we can monitor the situation from here, and the two of you can go rushing over there to save the day if you need to." She threw in the last part to both shame and calm the two tense men sitting near her.

They nodded without turning away from the scene that was about to unfold.

Across the bar Luke had reached Andy's table and was tapping her on the shoulder. She spun around the same fearful look she had had when Sam had placed his hand on her shoulder plastered all over her face. Sam was feeling the apprehension too this time. "Andy, we need to talk," Luke said in a voice that was a mixture of hurt and anger, favoring the latter.

"I don't have anything else to talk to you about," Andy said coolly, hoping that her brief dismissal would be successful in driving the detective away. She should have known that a dismissal wouldn't do it though. Luke was, after all, a detective. One didn't get to be a detective by giving up easily, especially not by giving up on interrogating a suspect when a confession was on the line.

"Alright. I guess we're doing this here then," Luke stated a gleam of deviance in his eye. Andy suddenly regretted her earlier comment. She glanced around the room for Sam, hoping that he was well out of Luke's warpath. She found him intently watching her from across the room with his friends. He gave her a small smile of sympathy and support; his way of silently saying that he would be there in an instant if she wanted him to be. She returned the expression letting him know that he could stay.

"So is there anything you want to tell me, Andy?" Luke prompted.

"I told you we didn't have anything to talk about, so what would I suddenly want to tell you?" she snapped.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe something about you and your training officer," Luke replied snidely.

"What would I possibly have to tell you about Sam Swarek?"

"Maybe something about him kissing you on your undercover operation, when we were still together."

She nearly choked on a sip of beer. _I totally wasn't expecting him to know about that. I mean we all knew that him finding out was a possibility but still._ "We were playing a role, Luke," she explained managing to fight the blush that threatened to color her cheeks.

"They were playing a serious, committed couple being separated in a dangerous, undercover situation. It was the logical move," Traci commented.

"I would've kissed her if I were Swarek," Dov trailed off, but an elbow to the ribs from Gail prompted him to finish the sentence, "in that situation."

"The way I see it they didn't have any other choice," Gail added.

"True. And I would see it that way too, if either of you had bothered to tell me about it. But instead you attempted to hide it from me. Even going so far as to get Detective Barber to bury the report," Luke's voice was rising.

"Detective Barber didn't try to bury the report. He was just assigned the debrief because clearly you are way too close," Chris chimed in as he returned to the table from the front of the bar.

"I might even believe that. But still neither of you even attempted to tell me, which means it clearly wasn't 'just one night', Andy." Andy choked on her drink again, unable to find any words to defend herself. _He just used my own words against me._ Traci had her moment staring into the bottom of her empty glass. _I can't believe that there isn't anything else in this. And is this is actually coming out? Here? Now? When they aren't even together? _The other rookies just gaped at Andy and then across the bar to Swarek. None of them knew. Chris couldn't believe that Andy would do something like that when she was in a committed relationship and with her TO no less. Gail just smirked. _So I guess McNally is just as much of a rule-breaker as I thought_. Dov stared at her in shock. _Hot shot McNally, alright._

"I didn't know what that meant then, but I sure as hell do now. You slept with Swarek, your training officer, while we were together," Luke finished the performance he set out for. Andy was scarlet red and completely incapable of defending herself, so she did what she did best, run. She ran out the front door of the Penny and didn't look back, not letting the hot tears of shame fall until she was sufficiently out of the line of sight of the door.

Luke watched Andy flee and then turned his head to grin malevolently at Sam.

Across the bar Sam's friends just stared at him. They had all seen it coming, but were completely blindsided by the revelation that it had actually occurred. "It wasn't everything you're thinking," was all Sam could manage before moving quickly towards the angry detective.


	10. Chapter 10

**So I don't think I got as much of a confrontation in here as some of you were looking for. While I do see the distinct possibility for one in this situation, I don't think that Sam would do anything to endanger his new place with Andy. And I definitely think a physical conflict would just end up doing more harm than good. So, that being said I hope you guys like it anyway. Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always!**

* * *

Sam's head was spinning. He couldn't believe that Luke had chosen to bring that night up here and now, especially since Andy and he weren't an item anymore. _He believed my explanation the first time, so why is he doing this now?_ He hated the thought of Andy running off to hide and probably to cry. _There are definitely going to be tears tonight_, he thought_. Not exactly what I was planning for the end of my night._ He wanted nothing more than to go to her and wrap his arms around her, but he knew that he had a few things to deal with before he could leave_. Alright. Let's make this as quick and clean as possible._

Luke watched Sam get up and start towards him_. So he's making this easy, he grinned tightly. Two birds, one stone. Andy basically proved my point already. There isn't anything Sam can do to fix this now. _

He reached the rook's table and grinned cocky and confidently up at Luke Callaghan. "Now, Callaghan, what purpose did that little display serve?" he asked making sure to keep his voice at a level where only those closest (Andy's friends) could hear.

"I thought I'd give Andy a chance to explain herself before I made sure the whole division knew exactly what kind of girl she is. And with you going undercover all the time it's nice for all the real cops to know what you're like too."

"That might be the case if you didn't have your story all wrong. But since you do you might want to keep your mouth shut, Callaghan," Sam stated calmly, although his voice had gotten exponentially louder.

"And I'm sure you'll tell us all exactly what happened right?" Luke said sounding almost sympathetic to Sam's cause. "But since you already lied to my face about the whole incident once, I don't think anyone will believe you." Luke grinned maliciously.

Sam just smirked and lowered his voice, "We'll see about that." Then in a slightly louder voice, "If anyone wants to know the real story they can come ask me two days from now when I'm on shift." His eyes scanned the room daring anyone to believe Luke's version.

At that point Jerry walked over and set Traci's drink down in front of her before walking up to Luke. "Okay, I we've all had plenty of entertainment for the evening. Why don't you call it a night?" he firmly suggested.

Luke simply turned on his heels and stormed out of the bar, knowing that Sam's loyal friends weren't going to let him take anymore jabs, verbal or otherwise.

Sam knelt by Traci's chair speaking softly enough that only she could hear. "I don't know what you know, nor do I care. But you need to promise me, for Andy's sake, that you will not speak one word of it to anyone. Let us handle this." She simply nodded in response and Sam rose intent on heading out the door after Andy.

Jerry stopped him momentarily with a hand on his shoulder and question on the tip of his tongue. Sam read Jerry's face and put his hand up in a gesture to stop. He pinched the bridge of his nose with frustration and said, "Jer, I promise to explain later. Right now I HAVE to find McNally. Try and keep things quiet okay?" Jerry nodded and clapped Sam on the back as he jogged towards the door.

Moments after the door closed behind him, the bar was abuzz with gossip over the recent revelations.

Jerry turned to Traci, who had already begun fielding the other rookie's questions. "When did it start? And how many times did it happen?" Dov blurted out without thinking. Gail smacked him on the back of the head, "None of that matters you moron. She'll tell you if and when she feels like it. That's personal. All I care about is if it happened on the job. That's all that matters." She looked pointedly at Traci waiting for an answer. "It matters if it happened at all and why," Chris stated, he always had been the moral compass of the group and he was struggling to wrap his mind around the huge break in his ethical code. "We need to know what kind of cop and what kind of person they are."

Traci gulped her drink down to the last drop. "I'm sure Andy will explain in more detail and maybe even answer all your questions when she sees you next, but for now all you need to know is Luke is twisting the facts. Give Andy a chance to explain. We are her friends after all," she stressed. Then she rose and walked over to Jerry intent on getting away from all the questions as soon as possible.

Jerry opened his mouth to start asking Traci what the whole story was, but she stopped him before he could start. "I don't want to talk about Andy and Swarek right now. I'm sure everything will come out in time. Right now all I want to do is get out of here." She looked up at him pleading to have him lead her away from it all.

He pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Go wait in the car. I'll be out in a minute. I just have a couple of things to take care of first," he replied thinking of his promise to Sam to quiet things down. She nodded and headed for the door. He started across the bar to Noelle and Oliver.

* * *

Right after Callaghan's revelation, Noelle had turned to Oliver and asked, "What the hell happened with those two?" She knew that if anyone knew that information it would be Sam's best friend.

Oliver just shrugged. "I knew he was attracted to her, but I had no idea that it had ever crossed that line. I warned him a couple times not to let it." _One of which might have been the night it did_, he thought grimly.

She nodded satisfied with his answer. "I knew that McNally was doing a number on him, but I don't think that Sammy could have handled her being with Callaghan if it crossed that line. You saw those two go at it at retraining and McNally stayed with Callaghan after that. No way Sammy would have waited for her after she burned him like that."

"I hope you're right, for their sake."

Just then Jerry walked up. "Hey! Any ideas how to quiet this crowd down? Cause Sammy kind of tasked that to me before he darted out the door after his rookie, without any explanation I might add."

"Cool your jets, Jer. I'm sure Sam has a good explanation," Noelle calmly stated.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Must I fix everything for you, Jerry?" he teased as he begun making his way to the center of the bar. In the loudest voice he could muster, very similar to the one he used when announcing the handcuff contest for the rooks, he called out, "Hey guys. How about we all calm down and quit worrying about this minor stuff. Sam said he would have an explanation for everyone when he gets back. And we've all worked with Sam long enough to know that he isn't the kind of person to let us down. So how about we all give him the benefit of the doubt?" There were a few grumbles but then the bar quieted down. Sam and Oliver were both well-liked by the division and Luke was a newcomer so everyone felt obligated to give Sam a chance to tell his side of the story.

Jerry raised a hand in thank you to Oliver before dipping out the front door headed for his car, hopefully with Traci in it. He really wanted the whole story on Sam and McNally, but since she was not in the mood to give it he was ready to spend the night discussing their situation instead. That is if she would let him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay this one is a little longer than I was going for, so I didn't get to Jerry and Traci. They'll be in the next chapter.**

* * *

Sam took off running down the street towards Andy's house. He hoped she hadn't made it too far, since she was on foot. Not seeing any trace of her he started to call her name. There was no answer. He hastily climbed the stairs to her apartment and knocked loudly, possibly too loudly, but at that moment he didn't care. "Andy, let me in. We need to talk," he called out. She didn't answer. He tried the doorknob, but it was locked. _Maybe I should just break the door down_, he thought briefly. But then he opted for calming down a bit and attempting to ascertain if she was even home. He placed his ear to the door hoping to hear her muffled movements inside. It was silent. He ran back downstairs and peered up at her windows, but they were dark.

_Where would she have gone? Her dad's? No she wouldn't want him to know about this jeopardizing her career. But her dad is her only family, and his safe spot that they used to go to together was the beach._ This sent him running back the five blocks to the Penny to pick up his truck. Before he took off he called her, but the phone simply went to voicemail. He hung up without saying anything knowing he wouldn't sound calm enough.

He drove as frantically as possible without breaking any major traffic laws to the beach they had gone to trying to prove her dad's innocence. He parked and jumped out of the truck already calling for her. "Andy! Andy, if you are here please answer me!" He walked the whole length of the beach without finding a trace of her. He was beginning to get really worried.

When he got back to the truck after combing the beach, he was out of ideas as to where she would have gone. So it was a welcome relief when his phone showed one missed call with her name on it. He sighed heavily and called her back as he backed out of the parking space.

"Sam, what's going on over there?" she asked sounding worried and frantic.

"Over where?" he asked already lost due to his desperate attempt to find her.

"At the Penny. That's where you are right?" she asked sounding confused.

"No. I've been scouring the town for you. So where are you?"

"I'm in the most obvious place ever, and I'm waiting for you by the way," she laughed.

"Clearly you aren't, considering I've already checked your apartment and the beach your father goes to on nights like tonight."

She smiled. He remembered, and he cared enough to go after her. "Sam, that beach is where my dad feels safe. I am where I feel safe."

His brow furrowed._ She is so damn confusing sometimes_, he silently cursed. _Clearly I'm supposed to get this, but no other places are coming to mind._ "Which is where, McNally? Or do you just not want to be found?" he asked tired of playing games and beginning to get angry.

She smiled surprised that he hadn't figured it out yet. "I'm sitting on your front doorstep. Right where I ran the night I shot that man." She looked down at her lap and the tears began to fall at the memory of the night that had caused all of this.

"Hey, hey, Andy, hun…. Don't cry," he whispered soothingly. "We're going to figure this out. Don't worry it isn't going to be a big deal."

"I think it already is," she choked out.

"Well it isn't. So you just pull yourself together, and we'll talk this little situation out when I get home. Okay, partner?"

She smiled as the tears dried up. There was just something about the way Sam talked to her that made everything, no matter what better. "Okay," she managed and they hung up.

Now that he knew she was home and safe, Sam obeyed all the traffic laws on his way home.

* * *

As it approached 1:30 the Penny began to empty out. Most of the officers there had a shift to work the next day and no one wanted to stay out that late, but the drama had made for a long night.

Chris and Dov had chatted at great length in hushed tones about what may or may not have occurred between their friend and her training officer, but the conversation had not held Gail's interest. So, at that moment she was asleep with her head on Chris' shoulder. He knew she wouldn't like the image it would present if he carried her out to the car, so he lightly shook her shoulder to rouse her while Dov settled his tab. She smiled up at him sleepily. "You look ready to go?" he said with a smirk.

"Yeah well we have a long shift tomorrow, unlike McNally and Swarek. And besides the evening was rather dull," she snidely commented as they headed to meet Dov at the door.

"Well Dov and I thought it was quite interesting."

"Well that's because you are the rules police and Dov is the rumor mill. And both of you need to get a life and loosen up on everyone else's," she commented. "Andy might not be my best friend, but she deserves the benefit of the doubt," she said, directing the comment at both the men. "We trained together, which means that by default we need to stick together. We are new enough that the only allies we have are each other, and she needs us now," she chided.

Both men nodded and agreed to not speak of the night's events until Andy chose to update them on the situation.

As the last of the rooks left, Noelle finished up her drink at the bar alone. Oliver had left a long time ago to get home to his wife and girls. She had agreed to stay and keep the bar quiet until everyone went home. The last of the veteran cops walked out right behind the rookies which allowed her to head home as well.

* * *

Once he got home, Oliver went straight to the girls' room. They were both tucked in bed sound asleep. His kissed both their foreheads, silently apologizing for not being there to tuck them in. Normally he would have been but the drama at the Penny tonight had demanded his attention. He promised himself to do better the next night and all those after.

Then he slipped silently into the master bedroom. He desperately wanted to tell Zoey everything that had happened, but he knew his wife needed her rest so he didn't want to wake her. However, when the door cracked open, Zoey sat bolt upright in bed. She had always been a light sleeper and it hadn't gotten worse since she had become a mother. On nights like this, when her husband was out late she was thankful for the ability to know when he got back. She always slept sounder when he was beside her anyway.

"Hey," she said with a small smile still sounding quite sleepy.

"Hey. I'm sorry I'm home so late. I really did intend to be home in time to help you tuck the girls into bed, but there was a lot going on after work tonight and Sam needed me," he briefly explained while he stripped out of his street clothes to climb into bed.

The teaser description of the night's events peaked Zoey's interest. "What was going on after work that Sam needed you for? Did he need a wing man to pick up some hot chick?" she teased.

Oliver laughed. "No, not exactly….." he then proceeded to explain the situation to his wife.

Zoey had always been a big fan of Sam Swarek. He had her husband's back more times than she could count and her girls absolutely adored him. They even occasionally called him uncle. And although she had never met the girl she felt a sense of obligation towards Andy McNally for risking her life to save and child and protect her wounded husband that day at the recreation center. All these feelings brought about the statement that totally shocked Oliver. "Well it sounds like those two are going to need their friends behind them 100% when they go back to work a couple days from now."

"We'll support them," he commented. _My wife should know that I always have Sam's back._

"It'll be hard for everyone to stand behind them, if they don't even know what the official story is. You guys are going to have to get everything straightened out away from the division before then for this to work. So I think that we should have a barbeque."

"Huh?" Oliver was stunned.

"A barbeque. You know grill meat, have some drinks, sit in the backyard, and talk. This is the perfect place."

"If you're sure. It would only be Sam, Noelle, Jerry and us anyway."

"No. You need to invite Andy and her friends too."

"Have rookies over here? Zoe, I don't know if that is a good idea."

"They aren't rookies anymore. They've been cut loose, which means that they are full-fledged cops. Remember how mad you were when people called you a rookie after they cut you loose?" she shot him a pointed look but didn't allow him a chance to answer, "So you might as well start making them feel like a part of the family and there won't be a better time than now."

His wife's words put the whole discussion to a definitive end, after all her mind was already made up and whatever his girl wanted she got. So he simply nodded and said, "I'll call everyone tomorrow."

She smiled and snuggled into his shoulder hoping to get back to peaceful slumber before the girls woke up.


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, so this whole chapter ended up being Traci and Jerry. Hope you guys don't mind. I'm going to get to Sam and Andy and the barbeque preparation in the next one.**

* * *

Immediately after exiting the bar, Traci walked over to Jerry's car. She unlocked the vehicle but then she began to second guess herself. _Should I really be doing this? I don't need him to get out of here and away from this. Maybe I should just head home._ She began to pace_. Jerry is a good guy, but it is never a good idea to start a relationship after a major startling event like this. But I really wouldn't be starting a relationship; I'd be continuing one. Besides I decided long before this that I made a mistake giving things with Dex another try. I know I want to give this thing with Jer a real shot. _She made up her mind and jumped into the passenger seat of the car, like it was a defining moment.

Just as she settled in, Jerry emerged from the bar. He took a brief look around the parking lot, making sure that her car was still there and she hadn't changed her mind. He smiled when he spotted her in his passenger seat and headed her way.

"Well it has definitely been an interesting night," he commented as he climbed in behind the wheel.

"That it has," she said with a slight smirk.

"So where am I taking you tonight?" he asked careful to keep the hopefulness out of his voice.

"Well…," she hesitated, "I was hoping we could go somewhere we could talk. Your place or mine. Either is fine with me." She didn't want Jerry to get defensive, and she knew asking him to take her home would put him on the defense.

"Okay. How about your place for tonight?" he suggested. He didn't want to leave her stranded if tonight didn't go his way and they needed some time apart. Her getting someone to drive her to pick her car up at the Penny would be much less awkward than him driving her home after they had a big fight. That is if she would even let him drive her home; she did have a bit of a temper and a stubborn streak about a mile long.

She nodded her consent and they rode to her apartment in relative silence only talking about work for the rest of the way.

When they arrived, she led him to her front door and let him in without saying a word. _This is going to be difficult_, she thought. She didn't like admitting her mistakes, although being a single mom at sixteen had meant that she had to do it often. She didn't know how to explain to Jerry the reasons that she had to give Dex a second chance and why it wouldn't happen again. But most importantly, she didn't know how to make him understand that she hadn't stopped caring about him.

Jerry walked in and glanced around. He would be kidding himself if he said that he wasn't searching for some trace of Dex's presence in her space, in her life. He found none.

She offered him something to drink and then brought the water he requested to him in a plain glass. She went to the sofa and made herself comfortable, hoping that he would follow soon. His interest in her space had always made her slightly uncomfortable. He done this the first time he saw her apartment, she reminisced. _It must be the detective in him._

He slowly turned from the picture of Traci with Leo at his school play and wandered over to the couch, smiling through the apprehension.

"So can we talk about us now?" Jerry asked. Traci nodded. "I heard from Swarek tonight that you broke it off with Dex. Is there some reason you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't know how you would take it. I knew I hurt you, even if you don't want to admit it, when I walked away from you at the bar that night to go meet him. I didn't know if you would want me back."

"Yeah. You hurt me alright. I hated to see you walk back to the man that wasn't there for you and Leo before. I didn't understand why he got a second chance when I wanted to take care of you both from the moment I found out you had a son." She started to speak, but he held up his hand for her to let him finish. The tears were welling in her eyes, but she allowed him to continue knowing that he needed to get this off his chest. "It took me a while, but I understand why now, Trace. On some level I understood then too. You needed to give Leo a chance at having his biological family intact."

"Yeah I did. I hate the label we have of a 'broken home'. I had to know I'd done everything possible to repair it."

"Traci, Dex walked out the first time and now he's done it again. A man doesn't have to be a biological parent to be a father. Maybe it's time you considered what would make you and Leo happy."

"You've taught me that. I should've trusted my instincts about you, but the history with Dex clouded my judgment." Traci moved closer and placed her hand on Jerry's thigh making eye contact as she spoke.

Even though it killed him to do it, he covered her little hand with his and guided her away from him gently. "If we're going to go down this road again I need to know that Dex is out of the picture for you. I understand that he is and always will be Leo's dad, but I need to know that you are not going to go running back to him at the drop of a hat again."

The tears that had been pooling in Traci's eyes began to fall. "Oh Jerry, I never meant to do this to us. I know now that Dex isn't the man I'm supposed to be with. I don't need to go down that road again, ever."

The finality in tone on ever made him smile. "Well then how about we see where this can go. Are you still interested?"

"Yes, I'm definitely interested," she said fighting a smile even as she dried her eyes.

"Good. But I think that this time we should give it a real try, instead of a messy, secret friends-with-benefits arrangement while I was in the middle of a divorce. Let's start with a real date. You deserve that." He had been planning saying that to her for a while. He felt bad about the way that their relationship had started. He knew that a lot of it had to do with where he had been in his life at that point, but he didn't want that to be the beginning of their relationship. He wanted her to have a better story for Leo and for her. "Pick a movie. I'm going to go make some popcorn and pour some drinks," he said handing her the remote.

As he turned his back to walk out, her lips turned up into a full-fledged smile. This was everything she had been dreaming for in a man, and there was no way she was letting go again.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry that it has been sooooooo long since I've posted an update. I've had A LOT going on. Hopefully I'm a little bit better at this now. We'll see. Unfortunately, I still don't own the characters. Although with the second season just around the corner it would be even nicer to own them now... lol Enjoy and read and review please! :)**

* * *

Even though he had had a long night Oliver was awake at the crack of dawn to get the girls up and out of bed and ready for school. It was something he enjoyed doing whenever he could, and after how late he came home that night he felt like he owed it to Zoe to let her sleep in. As soon as the girls were safely placed on the school bus, he made breakfast. The amazing smells wafting upstairs from the kitchen woke Zoey from her pseudo hibernation. It was rare that she got to sleep in and rarer that her husband had the girls off to school and breakfast ready when she woke up.

Over breakfast she immediately began to plan the BBQ; how she wanted the backyard set up, what foods she wanted to make (or have Oliver make), and things that needed to be done around the house before she would be comfortable having a bunch of company over, especially some of whom she had yet to meet. In the middle of her list making she asked, "Have you told them all when to be here yet?"

He chuckled. "No, not yet, hun. But with your reputation I could tell them two minutes before the start off and they would be here."

She smirked and lightly smacked his shoulder, knowing that he was giving her a hard time for being such a task master and for obsessively planning.

They finished breakfast catching up on their lives and enjoying a rare private moment without the kids. Then she picked up the dishes and headed for the kitchen sink. Oliver quickly moved to follow her, but she motioned for him to sit back down. "It's a reasonable time for you to start calling people, don't you think?" she none too subtlety hinted.

He grinned and said, "I suppose so."

"Start with Sam," she directed as she walked away.

Sam rolled over startled by the sound of his phone ringing and then falling from the coffee table to the floor. He groggily and somewhat clumsily tried to extract his phone from under the couch without waking Andy as she slept sprawled across his chest.

When he huskily answered, "Swarek," Andy instantly woke up with a startled exclamation. Sam gently rubbed circles on her back until she relaxed against his chest once more.

Shaw chuckled into the receiver. "Well someone had a good night…."

"Yeah, that's not what you think either, Ollie," Sam stated slightly annoyed. "What do you need at this early hour?" Sam was not in the mood to discuss the previous night's revelations at the present time and slightly resented Oliver for attempting to coax it out of him before the promised two days were up.

"Well actually I don't want anything. My wife and I, mainly my wife, have a proposition to make."

Now it was Sam's turn to chuckle. "Alright. I'm listening."

"Zoe thinks that Andy and you need to present a unified front with your closest friends when you go back to work in a couple days. So she suggested that we all get together for a barbeque here and get our stories straight. That way we can do a better job of having your backs than we did last night when we got blindsided."

"That actually sounds like a really good idea to me. I'll talk to Andy about it and get back to you. But I'm in. And I have a feeling she will be too," he said winking at Andy who was looking up at him from her spot on his chest confused.

Shaw and Swarek hung up and Sam relayed the proposal to Andy.

"I don't know, Sam. That seems really public and kind of embarrassing. I don't know if I want to explain anything to a bunch of senior officers that up until a couple weeks ago were my training officers."

"It won't be like that, and if for some reason you feel that way, you can take your friends into another room while I deal with mine."

"I don't want to impose all of this on Officer Shaw and his family."

"Zoey, his wife, wouldn't have it any other way. And trust me she is a pretty persistent woman. She always gets her way."

Andy in her groggy and surprised state was completely out of arguments. "Well I guess I'm in then…"

Sam smiled, impulsively kissed her forehead, and texted Oliver to say Andy was on board. _This feels so right. We're finally on our way to being a real couple. One more hurdle to jump and we're there. And I could get used to this_, Sam thought as he sighed contentedly holding Andy close on her couch.

For her part Andy was blushing and burrowing deeper into Sam's embrace not wanting the moment to end. _I didn't plan on the first night he stayed at my place being on the couch in the clothes we wore to the bar and me crying the whole time, but leave it to him to make this feel right. I bet he doesn't even realize what he just did_, she thought.

Oliver called into the kitchen, "Sam and McNally are on board with your plan."

"Yay!" Zoey squeaked. "Now your job is to call everyone else and make sure they'll be here at 6 tomorrow. I'm going to run to the store."

Oliver just chuckled and said, "Yes ma'am."

He picked up the phone and sent texts to Noelle and Jerry. He even made sure to tell Jerry to invite Traci. Then he called Dov and had him get Chris and Gail to come. He explained that Swarek and McNally wanted a chance to explain things in private and expected the select few invitees to keep quiet until after the barbeque.

* * *

Andy and Sam had spent most of their time off in each other company, although they hadn't had another sleep over. Andy thought it had been truly perfect. Honest, funny, and romantic, but built on a strong, solid, trusting partnership unlike any she had ever known. It was a completely new twist on dating. And up until now she had been able to forget that there was any reason to be apprehensive about them, but now it was 5:30pm on the day they were supposed to go to Oliver Shaw's barbeque to explain themselves to their respective friends in preparation for returning to work. She was putting the final touches on her outfit and makeup, and Sam was knocking on her front door. She took one last glance in the mirror and jogged to the door.

She looked through the peephole out of habit and saw Sam standing there solid and sure looking absolutely normal in a black v-neck, jeans, and sneakers. There was something about the sight of him that calmed her nerves enough to open the door, even if the smile on her face wavered a bit with her nervousness.

"I thought I was going to have to pick your lock, McNally," Sam teased with a gleam in his eyes.

She grinned. "You almost had to."

"Oh, Andy," Sam said, worried. "It isn't going to be half as bad as you are imagining. You are overthinking this again. I promise our friends are going to be perfectly understanding and they will unequivocally have our backs tomorrow."

"I don't think your friends are going to get it. And there is no way Gail and Chris will understand," she started to rant.

"Andy…." Sam calmed her down. "My friends are going to support me," and before she could interrupt, "and for the foreseeable future that means supporting you, as in you and me, because there is definitely an us in my mind."

She grinned nervously and took his outstretched hand and allowed herself to be led to his truck and driven to the Shaw's barbeque.

They pulled up before anyone else had arrived. Sam opened her door, took her hand once again, and led her to the Shaw's front door. Zoey opened the door and Sam let go of Andy's hand briefly to allow Zoe to hug them both. Andy had been prepared for formal introductions but Zoey felt like the younger woman needed to be welcomed in like the family she already felt she was. Pulling back from the hug, she beamed at Andy. "So you must be the fabled Andy McNally that I've been hearing so much about."

"That's me," Andy managed as her brain spun through the various things that Oliver's wife could have been told. None were good.

"Well then, I owe you the biggest thank you imaginable. You are family already and I hadn't even met you. First, you steal our Sammy's heart and soul, unlike any woman I've ever seen or heard of him dating. And then, as if I needed another reason to love you, you go and save my husband's life while protecting a child no less. We are going to get along great."

With that revelation Andy couldn't help but relax. She even felt inclined to return Zoe's megawatt smile, which thankfully was enough for both Zoe and Sam, because she was completely incapable of forming a coherent thought. Her mind was racing between Zoe's apparent conviction that Sam's heart belonged to Andy and the tremendous warmth of her welcome making this strange and unfamiliar territory instantaneously home. No one had ever done that for her and she wanted desperately for the family-like friendship Zoe predicted to work out.

They had just greeted Oliver and opened the beers he handed them when Oliver's two young girls came tearing out the back door and into Sam screaming in excitement, "Uncle Sammy!" Andy beamed ear to ear as Sam set his beer down in favor of playing in the backyard with them. She watched entranced, until Zoe walked up behind her and whispered, "Sam is so good with them. He is going to make an excellent father someday."

Not wanting to get ahead of herself, Andy simply nodded and asked what she could do to help out. Luckily she was saved by the sound of the doorbell ringing announcing the arrival of Chris, Gail and Dov. All three former rookies stood awkwardly on the porch, unsure of what the night would bring, when Andy opened the door. The sight of a familiar face quickly eased the tension. And Zoey and Oliver worked hard to keep the rookies from feeling guarded and out of place.

Noelle arrived next and quickly made herself at home helping Zoey carry food outside and set up a buffet line.

Traci and Jerry were last since they had had to pick Leo up at daycare. He was holding tightly to both their hands until he spotted Sam and the girls playing in the backyard. He quickly shot off to join in and was welcomed like a familiar friend. Traci beamed, that was all the reassurance that she needed to know that she was in the place she needed to be all along. She slipped her hand into Jerry's and squeezed letting him know how happy she was to be sharing this moment with him.

A short while later Oliver announced that the hamburger patties were done and everyone gathered around the table making plates and small talk. When the food was done and everything was cleaned up and put away, Zoey banished the kids to play on the play set so the adults could talk.

"Alright Sammy, what was all that drama about the other night?" Jerry asked, straightforward and to the point, as always.

Sam looked to Andy, but she was blushing and looking at her shoes intently. He took her hand, squeezed lightly to reassure her, and started the explanation. He talked about their almost moment after the first shift they worked together in the Black Penny parking lot but explained how Andy had turned him down. He then commented about her and Luke starting to date and him wanting to keep from interfering in any way. However, he candidly admitted that while he told himself that he was simply her TO and a friend he was allowing himself to feel more and to get too close and involved in her life. When he explained the evening Andy shot the man at the rec center, Zoey clung to Oliver protectively as he nodded his head; the memories were flooding back. Sam explained that due to his relationship with Andy and her lack of a TO, due to Shaw's hospitalization, he had offered to be there to talk if she needed it.

At this point Andy chimed in. She talked about having had plans to see Luke and wanting nothing more than to be with him and process the day's events with someone who would understand. Then she explained the pain of the rejection when he chose to work a case he wasn't even assigned to on the night that she needed him the most. She talked about how it seemed like he didn't even understand. She explained that she tried to go home and deal with the emotions alone, but that it hadn't worked. And so with nowhere else to go she went running, literally, to Sam. But then when she got there she hadn't been able to express her feelings in words and needed something to distract her so she kissed him for being there, for caring, for understanding, and to help her forget.

He admitted that he should never had allowed it, but acknowledged that he reacted to the pent up emotions and attraction and let it go too far.

She clarified that they just made out in the dark in his house until the lights came on and snapped them both back to reality.

He admitted he was excited to see her on her next shift back and even to deal with what the relationship had become, but that then Luke soured the whole thing. He said his worst mistake was pushing her away without talking or letting her explain. At that he looked to her apologetically.

She explained that she had told Traci and childishly put Sam "on ice". She explained that that was how Luke first found out about them.

Swarek admitted that he lied to save the relationship he thought she wanted. That created the status quo until they played a couple undercover.

Which was when, she admitted she realized that she had such strong feelings for Sam that she couldn't be with Luke.

Noelle and Oliver exclaimed, "You two are so blind." To which, the happy couple simply nodded.

Traci and Jerry looked at each other. Jerry said, "That's a more kosher story than we have." Traci laughed and apologized for pushing Andy to Luke again after the blackout.

Dov simply stood in shock. Chris sternly stated, "You guys broke all kinds of department rules and procedures…." But before he could continue, Gail said, "But nothing happened at work and you didn't cross any irreversible lines." She squeezed Chris' hand and maintained eye contact with him the whole time. He glanced down. "I suppose Gail is right. It could have been much worse and you both seem really sorry, so we've got your back tomorrow like always."

The group smiled, discussed what the official story would be in the morning, and then shared companionable conversation until the kids sleepily declared that it was bedtime.


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry this took awhile too. Hope it lives up to expectations. It kind of got away from me so there will be at least one more chapter, maybe two. Thanks for reading, reviewing, and waiting patiently. And of course I don't own any of the characters. **

* * *

Andy's idea of how to deal with the situation at work was to ignore the incident and keep up a professional appearance for the meantime. She wasn't one for talking and wasn't about to willing allow the whole division into her personal life. Plus she didn't want to be forced into publicly confirming what Luke suspected.

Sam (and the rest of the TOs for that matter) disagreed. From experience they knew that ignoring something like this wouldn't make the problem go away but instead silently confirm what everyone was already thinking. Sam didn't want to make any big public announcements that would embarrass Andy though.

So they came up with a compromise. Sam and Andy would go into work early and inform Sgt. Best that they were dating. They would mention that Luke was hurt and upset and had had a very public outburst. They would say that they were handling the situation. Because Frank knew Sam so well he would understand to leave the situation alone and not react to anything he heard about the bar incident. The official story everyone would be sticking to was that Andy had broken up with Luke because things just weren't working out. Luke had been jealous of her close friendship with Sam, and after the incident at The Black Penny, Sam had gone to comfort Andy. This had led to them realizing the feelings they had for each other and starting to date. The hopes were that all the friends spewing the story and Sam's declaration that he would answer everyone's questions would keep most people away from Andy.

* * *

Sam had dropped Andy off at her apartment after the BBQ and made plans to pick her up in the morning and drive her into work. She had gotten her duty bag packed before she went to bed so that she would be ready when Sam showed up early for him (which was super early for her). She wanted to be sure not to forget anything. She was nervous about what the day would bring. It took forever for her to fall asleep and she must not have slept well, because when the piercing shrill of her alarm sounded she felt exhausted and instinctively hit snooze. Thirty minutes later she was rushing to get ready in time, but her mind was on other things (namely the stressful day ahead) so she wasn't going nearly fast enough. That's when she heard a knock on her door. _Damn it_, she thought.

She ran down the hall barefoot buttoning her shirt and checking the zipper on her jeans. Her hair was still wet from the shower and clinging to everything it touched. She wore no makeup and was slightly embarrassed about the sight Sam was about to see. When she breathlessly opened the door, he stood there smiling holding coffee and doughnuts from her favorite shop. "See I told the lady at Mike's she didn't take nearly long enough," he joked with a smirk.

She smacked his shoulder and told him to make himself comfortable while she finished up. She promised not to take too long.

Sam wasn't worried though. He had shown up extra early on purpose. He knew she would need the extra push out the door, especially today, and with him here she would actually get ready quickly.

Fifteen minutes later she came downstairs with minimal makeup and shoes on and her hair done up. He smiled, kissed her good morning and handed her her breakfast. As they walked out the front door, he slung her duty bag over his shoulder. She couldn't help but think that this was a perfect routine. Her mind leapt ahead to him waking her up in their bed with breakfast to make sure they were on time to work and maybe even having the kids ready for school. But almost as soon as the truck started to move those thoughts were banished from her mind by an overwhelming sense of dread.

"Sam," Andy asked her voice full of nerves, "what if this doesn't work?"

"It's going to work, sweetheart," he said confidently as he took her hand. "But if it doesn't then we'll just need to give it sometime and then everyone will understand." He locked eyes with her briefly, but it was enough to calm her stomach so she could eat the breakfast. They pulled into the station parking lot a full hour early. Dawn hadn't even broken yet. Andy couldn't remember ever being here this early.

"Are you sure Sgt. Best is going to be here this early?" she questioned.

"Yeah, I texted Frank last night," Sam responded.

Somehow that response didn't make her feel more relaxed. It just served to up her anxiety level a little. _Frank knows what is coming._ She wasn't sure how she felt about that. It was like any competitive advantage she thought they might have was out of the question.

Sam came around the truck and opened her door. He took her hand and pulled her out of the truck and into his chest. "Sweetheart, I know you're worried, but you trust me right? Because once upon a time you would walk unafraid into dangerous situations just because I was there." She laughed remembering how naïve she felt telling him that that night. He smiled at the memory. "Yeah, I trust you, Sam." "Good because I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. And I won't let anything happen to you. I've got your back, McNally. We're still partners you know." He smirked. She grinned. They grabbed their bags slung them over opposite shoulders and walked hand in hand into the station.

Andy was shocked by the emptiness of the place. It didn't feel right, but she hadn't ever been inside the station at this time. Just as Sam had promised the lights were on in Sgt. Best's office and he was clearly visible sitting at the desk pouring over paperwork with a cup of coffee. Sam led her up the stairs running his thumb softly up and down the hand he held to keep her calm. It was a gesture she appreciated but no longer needed. _After all he is here_, she thought to herself.

Sam knocked on the door and Frank called for them to come in. Both Andy and Sam dropped their duty bags at the door before proceeding to sit in front of Frank's desk. Sam continued to hold Andy's hand, which made her blush. "Frank, the situation between McNally and I has evolved. We wanted you to know, so you could make the necessary arrangements."

He nodded. "You won't be able to ride with one another anymore, but I will try and keep you both on the same shift and at 15th Division. However, at the first sign of any problems that this causes one of you will be moving. Understood?" They both nodded and just like that it was done.

"Let's go get changed and then we'll get some more coffee. Sound good?" Sam asked. She nodded. Right now anything Sam said sounded good. He was trying to keep her out of the women's locker room with everyone where he wouldn't be able to protect her from questions. Before they stepped into their respective locker rooms she pulled Sam into her for a kiss. He smiled back at her as he slipped into the men's locker room.

Twenty minutes later they were sitting on a desk by the coffee pot all grins and twinkling eyes lost in their own conversation as everyone else started to arrive. Soon they were surrounded by a group of protective friends. So no one attempted to ask Sam about the events of two nights past.

As they walked into the conference room for parade Andy thought Sam would break away in favor of his usual spot in the back with his friends. However, he happily followed her to the front row of the room where they sat with her friends. Even more unexpected was the shift of all the other former TOs to the second row.

As Sgt. Best started parade, Andy McNally felt all the eyes in the room drilling into her back, especially the calculated stare of one blonde detective. But she banished any doubts and worries she might have had about the day ahead, because sitting next to her was her partner and he always had her back.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**So, this has really, really taken me a long time to start writing. That is partly because my school schedule is just so busy, but also partly because I was feeling very inspired to write during and after the most recent season. Kudos to those of you who have managed to continue. I've been keeping up with a lot of you, especially some of my favorite authors from when I was writing more actively. You are all still amazing. I appreciate all of you guys that have written to me asking if I was going to finish this story. And in response, this is my attempt and closure for this story. I hope I do it justice. **

**I still don't own anything Rookie Blue. And yeah that sucks. Lol**

So as they headed out of the parade room and off to their respective assignments, Andy wondered what this day would bring. She couldn't help but wonder what Luke might be stirring up today. Frank had partnered her up with Noelle, and Sam was riding with Chris. It made sense, if anyone could curtail any rule breaking on Sam's part it would be Diaz, and Noelle would make a good body-guard for her.

"Let's get out of here, Andy," Noelle instructed. So before she knew it she was being ushered into a squad car.

As they pulled away from the station, Andy smirked. "So I guess Sam has been telling everyone just how freaked out about coming back to work I am, huh?"

"Well yeah…. But only because he is really worried about you, Andy. That man cares about you so much. The last thing he wants to do is let you think that your career means nothing to him."

Andy smiled and nodded. Sam had always had her back. And from the very first disregard, she had known that he cared about her career.

Back at the station, Diaz's insistence on following the proper protocol was set to make Sam and him the last officers out of the parking lot. Sam swore they had inspected every part of their gear and squad car 80 times. He didn't think anyone ever did this. And his theory was confirmed by the several minor "out of code" things that Chris had found.

Catching the glint off a tall man's blonde hair, Sam said, "Alright, Diaz. Jump in. We are done."

"But, sir…" Diaz trailed off, following Sam's gaze.

"Swarek!" called Det. Luke Callaghan.

Perfect. This is not the kind of thing that we need today, thought Swarek.

"What has brought one of the chosen ones out here to grace us with his presence?" Swarek asked, all bravado and confidence, even if he wasn't feeling it.

"I overheard Barber and Shaw spreading the word about you and McNally's little confession party. I assume that was their job. So, you've won Swarek, but just so we're clear: having a bunch of people spreading your lies, doesn't make them the truth."

Sam nodded. "Thank you for acknowledging your ex-girlfriend's right to move on."

Luke threw Sam a glare over his shoulder as he stalked off. _Well that's about the best I could ever have hoped for from Luke,_ Sam thought.

"Diaz, you feel like driving?"

Chris was shell shocked about the personal business the two men had just brought up over the squad car. "Uh… well yeah sure, sir," he mumbled and caught the keys Sam threw his way.

As soon as he was nestled into the passenger seat, Sam pulled out his phone and texted, _We won, McNally._

She replied, _Are you sure?_

_Positive. You ready to try being normal with me?_ – Sam

_I couldn't be more ready if I tried, Sam._

For the rest of the day, both officers and their friends remained in a good mood.

Luke put in for a transfer to Division 21. He had heard that they were down a detective, and he didn't think that he would be able to work anywhere where he had to watch McNally and Swarek on a day to day basis. Frank agreed with him that the transfer was for the best, and therefore he signed the paperwork before the day was over.

At the end of shift Sam waited for Andy outside the women's locker room. When she came out, he took her bag and her hand and they walked to his truck. They said goodbye to friends they passed on their way out. This would become their nightly ritual.


End file.
